Road Reaction Postgame Show: Kings fail in Dallas

The Sacramento Kings traveled to Dallas to take on Dirk Nowitzki and his Mavericks teammates. Sacramento jumped all over Dallas early, leading by as many as 24 before the break. But then the wheels came off the bus.

Dallas stormed back with a tremendous third quarter, beating the Kings by the final of 106-98 and extending their home winning streak against Sacramento to 21 games dating back more than a decade.

Join James Hamand Rui Thomas for the Road Reaction Postgame Show on Google+ after the game. The show can be watched on the video player embedded below. You can also join the discussion of tonight’s game by leaving a comment at the bottom of the page.

What to watch

1. Stretching out

Jason Thompson will have to step out of his comfort zone covering Dirk Nowitzki. The 6-foot-11 Thompson matches up well physically with the future Hall of Famer, but the Maverick is driving less and shooting jumpers at a higher clip than ever (career-low 12.1 percent of field goal attempts within 10 feet), so the Kings big man must stay home and resist biting on pump fakes.

2. The other guys

From Jerome James to Mario Chalmers, Kings fans have grown accustomed to watching opponents’ role players light up the scoreboard. The latest example: Kendrick Perkins and Sebastian Telfair came out of nowhere to spark the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday. Dallas boasts a bevy of fully capable complementary pieces (Jay Crowder, Devin Harris, Brandan Wright, etc.) who may have circled this match on their calendar.

3.Can the Kings bounce back?

While the Kings front office has assembled talented rosters in recent seasons, the team’s struggles are most often mental. Coming off a loss to one of the worst clubs in the NBA this season, where Sacramento committed two absent-minded technicals, the still-maturing Kings will have to outwit and out-hustle a battle-tested veteran Dallas squad to avoid dropping two games in a row.

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About CK

Founded in 2009, Cowbell Kingdom is a member of the ESPN TrueHoop Network. Its goal is to provide frontline, on-the-ground coverage of the Kings that leads to interesting and thought-provoking discussion amongst readers.